CLAREMONT, Calif. - John Laidlaw scored the first of his two goals just 1:43 into the game to help stake the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer team to a 4-0 halftime lead, and the Stags went on to earn a 5-1 win over Chapman on Saturday night at Pritzlaff Field. 

With the win, the Stags improve to 14-3-3 overall and will earn the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament when the field is announced on Monday. Chapman, which upset top-seeded Redlands to make it to the finals after earning its way into the tournament as the fifth seed, finishes its season at 6-9-6. 

Laidlaw scored the first and third goals for the Stags, with Rafael Otero scoring in between just 10:55 into the game, and then assisting on the second Laidlaw tally at the 20:54 mark. James Gomez scored the fourth one less than two minutes later to put CMS ahead 4-0 just 22:35 into the game. 

Eric Grossman-Glover assisted on the first CMS goal from Laidlaw, and Collin Ross picked up a pair of assists, with Gomez adding one as well. 

Liam Hall finished off the CMS scoring with an unassisted rocket from 30 yards with 23:08 left in the contest. Cooper Haley avoided the shutout for the Panthers by scoring with just 7:27 left.

CMS finished with an 11-6 edge in shots, including 8-1 in the first half, before playing most of its roster in the second half. A total of 29 players saw action for the Stags in the contest. 

CMS will find out its tournament destination on Monday. The last time the Stags earned a bid, they captured the regional title at Trinity (Texas) in 2019 before advancing to the Round of 16.